Lazada Singapore

Lazada is owned by the Alibaba Group and it carries a diverse range of local products–if you see it in NTUC, Guardian etc, you’d most probably be able to find it here.

Delivery Speed

Delivery Speed is dependent on the seller’s location.– International seller: You’d have to wait at least 1 – 2 weeks (sometimes 3). – Faster shipping: No. There aren’t any options available to change the delivery speed, but you can filter for products coming from “Singapore”. This makes for faster delivery: speeds of 1-5 days.

Use the search bar and listed categories on the main page, then streamline your search further using the search filters (brand, service type, price, location) located on the left hand side of the webpage.

Sellers’ reliability a concern for you? For a curated selection of top international and local brands and their authorized distributors, click on “LazMall”. Alternatively, you could rely on the reviews on each product page:

Other pre-filtered categories – “Most Popular”, “Flash Deals”, and “Just For You” – that are pretty helpful can be found when you scroll further down the page.

In terms of payment options, Lazada is one of the few marketplaces that allow “Cash On Delivery” for selected purchases.

Product Costs

If you are out bargain hunting, you might want to note that different product categories are cheaper on different sites. Refer to our comparison article on Amazon, Taobao, and Lazada prices here!

Shopee Singapore

A strong contender for the title of the top regional marketplace, Shopee was launched in 2015 and has since expanded its reach to Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Philippines.

Delivery Speed

Delivery Speed for products on Shopee are generally comparable to Lazada’s. For international shipments, deliveries tend to be around 1 – 2 weeks (sometimes 3). For local shipments, these would be around 1-5 days.

Ease of Shopping on Shopee

Shopping on Shopee should generally be intuitive to most Singaporeans as well.

Just like Lazada, there are more filters you can play with once you’ve narrowed down your product search with the search bar or listed categories.

Note: We found that the first row of items shown do not always correspond to what was searched. For example, “vacuum cleaner” returned “multi-purpose cleaner”, “floor cleaner”, and even “tile remover” in the top row of the search results. The search results return to generally more relevant results after that.

There are several Shopee-specific categories that may be new to you:Shopee Mall – Shopee’s version of LazMall with some added shipping and return perksShopee Preferred – list of more reputable sellersShopee Mart – online store for local groceries and other necessities

Product Costs

Doing price comparisons between Lazada and Shopee might save you a few dollars if you do your due diligence, but it can also be time-consuming. Want a sustainable way to save money? Get acquainted with our shopping assistant, and let it give you savings on purchases on BOTH sites!

Returns, Refunds and other Customer Help

Shopee’s return and refund are generally only valid within “Shopee Guarantee” period, which is “days to ship + estimated delivery time”. This can be extended for an additional 3 days if required.

Taobao (Direct)

Enter Taobao, the most popular marketplace for cheap goods known to Singaporeans. Taobao might be notoriously difficult to navigate, but our shopping hacks and guides below will make Taobao shopping a breeze.

Delivery Speeds

Shipping Duration for most products on Taobao is generally longer: takes 3 – 5 weeks to reach your doorstep. Of course, there are faster delivery options like DHL, EMS, and China Air Mail available, but they cost more and would still take about 5 – 10 days. In short, if you heavily prioritise delivery speeds, Taobao is not for you.

Ease of Shopping on Taobao

The biggest hurdle for most Singaporeans for shopping on Taobao is none other than the fact that Taobao is in Mandarin. It might be daunting to most save for the fact that…

we’ve made a Taobao guide to help you navigate Taobao with ease! Check it out here!

Be it browsing Amazon on mobile (Amazon Prime Now app) in Singapore or on desktop, the UI should be pretty intuitive. Reminder: Toggle your settings to “Deliver to Singapore” to filter for products that ship to Singapore!

Also, get certain products at a cheaper price on country-specific Amazon sites (Amazon.jp, .cn, .uk, etc) – here’s our guide on how to do so! Additionally, get the low-down on Amazon hacks, and pay the LOWEST exchange rate for overseas purchases just by getting RateX (no hidden caveats)!

Returns and Refunds

Amazon does not offer return-shipping fee refunds unless it is clearly their fault. Return and refund policy is pretty straightforward (See here).